In celebration of Valentine's Day, I thought it would be fun to explore the love life of one of Marvel's most prominent characters: Spider-Man. Spoiler Alert: He isn't as innocent as Tom Holland's Portrayal in the MCU would have you think!

Peter Parker is often referred to as being somewhat of a dork. He has always been labeled as a bit of a looser. But honestly, that's just not the case.

The Love Bug

In some 60+ years, just how many girlfriends has Peter Parker had? It can't be that many... can it? When discussing the love life of Peter Parker, many will remember the top 3. Those, of course, being Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane and Felicia Hardy (aka The Black Cat).

But what about the others? In over 60 odd years, Peter Parker and Spider-Man have had many romantic relationships. With Valentine's day just around the corner, I figured we'd go through them all.

Betty Brant

The first love of Peter Parker: Betty Brant made her first appearance in issue 4 of the Amazing Spider-Man. She was J Jonah Jamesons' assistant at the Daily Bugle and instantly took a liking to Peter.Their friendship started immediately and by issue number 9 they had begun their romantic courtship, with Peter inviting her along to his High School Prom. However, Peter was also attracted to fellow classmate Liz Allen as well as a new mysterious girl on the scene, a girl later to be revealed to be Mary-Jane Watson. Peter and Betty soon settled on friendship.

Mary-Jane Watson

Mary-Jane Watson is probably the most famous of Spiderman's love interests and made her first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man issue number 25, though her face was hidden by a household plant and so therefore (in my opinion) does not count as an appearance, least of all a first.Mary-Jane's true first full appearanceĀ  was in issue 42, when she arrived for a blind date with Peter set up for him by Aunt May and her Aunt Anna. Peter had hit the jackpot; they began dating each other in the next issue.

As the issues went on, Mary-Jane's wild lifestyle became too much for Peter to deal with and they eventually stopped seeing each other. they would reignite their romance years later and eventually get married. (The Amazing Spiderman Annual #21)This lead us to the events of "One More Day," where their marriage was undone by the Devil Mephisto, but it is my understanding that the current Spider-Man run is trying to bring these two back together once more. Fingers crossed.

Gwen Stacy

When Peter first met Gwen in Amazing Spider-Man issue number 31, they weren't exactly fond of eachother. However as time passed the two found similar interests. The pair began dating each other in issue 53 of the Amazing Spider-Man after visiting a science fair together.Their love began to grow and they soon found themselves planning a long life together until her untimely death in issue 121, a hugely defining moment in Spider-Man's life.

Cissy Ironwood

One of Peter's often forgotten romances was with that of Precilla Ironwood, aka Cissy. Cissy appeared in Marvel Team-up issue number 80. Peter and she attended a play while being stalked by a werewolf who was later revealed to be Dr Strange. Peter and Cissy would go on a couple of dates, but nothing really ever came of it.

Debra Whitman

Debra Whitman is one of the more depressing characters within Spider-Man's history. The character of Debra Whitman first appeared in the Amazing Spider-Man issue number 196, but she began to appear more frequently in the spin off title: Spectacular Spider-Man, and she and Peter begin to date in issue 46.Their romance was brief, as the girl's tragic past with an abusive husband, along with a growing mental instability and suspicions of Spider-Man's identity, ultimately lead to their breakup and, unfortunately, her breakdown.

Felicia Hardy

Felicia Hardy, aka The Black Cat, was one of the first romantic interests within Peter's life whom he originally met as Spider-Man, way back in The Amazing Spider-Man issue number 194.After Black Cat was injured in Spectacular Spider-Man issue 76, Peter decided to reveal his secret identity to Felica and their romance grew. The pair would be romantically involved for some time before finally settling on being just friends.

Michele Gonzales

After his marriage to Mary-Jane was mystically erased by Mephisto, Peter was once again put out on the dating scene.This came with a number of new love interests in his life, including but not limited to his then roommate, Michele Gonzales. Now, Michele and Peter didn't really like each other, but after a drunken one night stand in Amazing Spider-Man issue 601, the pair entered a very brief romantic relationship, albeit one-sided. They broke up in issue 605.

Carlie Cooper

Peter first met Carlie Cooper after her friend, Lilley Holister, began to date his friend, Harry Osborn. The pair shared a very awkward first date, which occurred in 2010's Amazing Spiderman issue number 642 and they officially started dating properly in issue 647.

They dated for quite some time, until Carlie eventually broke up with Peter after discovering he was Spider-Man (The Spider-Island Incident).

Anna Maria Marconi

Though not strictly a Parker romance, I think this one still counts.Doctor Otto Octavius bests Peter and takes control of his body, becoming The Superior Spider-Man. He also found a new love in fellow Empire State University student, Anna Maria Marconi.As their relationship grew, this ultimately lead to the redemption of Otto, leading him to give back Peter's body so that Spider-Man could save Anna Maria from The Green Goblin.

Cindy Moon

Another of Peter Parker's love interests that never quite developed into a full relationship was that with Cindy Moon.Cindy was a girl in Peter's class who also was bitten by the same radioactive spider all those years ago. This eventually lead to her becoming the costumed crime fighter known as Silk.After her first full appearance in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man issue number 4, Peter and Cindy discover an animalistic attraction that leads to uncontrollable passion whenever the two are near. Despite this, the pair never let their connection develop into anything further, though they continue to work together as allies and friends.

Lian Tang

After the creation of Parker Industries, Spider-Man went worldwide and he began operating out of his new headquarters in Shanghai. There, he began dating scientist Lian Tang, who helped him design a new spider-mobile. (Why Spider-Man needs a spider-mobile when he has web-winging still baffles me... Thanks, Toybiz!

But (much like the others) this romance wasn't to last, as it was soon revealed that she was working for the villain Zodiac inorder to get help for her ill mother's treatment. Spider-Man, of course, forgave her, but the two where never romantically involved again.

Bobbi Morse

Finally, we have Bobbi Morse. During Peter's time as a wealthy CEO, he developed a business relationship with SHIELD, which involved him making new armour for their agent Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird. As Spider-Man and Mockingbird worked closer together, their attraction developed into what looked like a promising relationship.Unfortunately, after Peter's fall from grace, the couple were forced to live together and soon broke up after realising they shared little in common beside work.

So there you have it. What was that? Some twelve odd romances? Boy, Peter, that is A LOT of notches on that bed post!
Happy Valentines Day!

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